What Time Is It?

Hey Improvisers, I’ve just posted the newest video in our Journey Through The Real Book. It’s Keith Jarrett’s early composition “In Your Quiet Place” and it features two contrasting musical sections. It begins with a gentle, tender musical feeling and soon builds to a lively gospel/rock groove. “In Your Quiet Place” is a lot of … Read More

Hey Improvisers! It’s interesting how various concepts resonate with us differently at different times. One day, a certain quote or phrase seems to be exactly what we need to hear and the next day, it’s something else altogether. I’m finding this out first-hand while making my 31-day video series on Keith Jarrett. Each day, I … Read More

Hey Improvisers, If we play piano only once in a year, the chances of playing really well are fairly low. If we play twice, the odds are a little better, but still not so great. If we play a few times per month, one of those times may be wonderful. And if we play every … Read More

Hey Improvisers! When I coined the phrase “Practice Paralysis” (sometime around 2014), little did I suspect that this affliction would grow much worse over time. In fact, the emails people send me demonstrate that it’s probably the single-most common obstacle that improvising pianists have today. In pre-internet times, pianists used to get Practice Paralysis from … Read More

Wouldn’t you love to study piano with Keith Jarrett? Believe it or not, he has actually done some private and even occasional group teaching over the years, and as we might expect, he is able to share his deep insights with his few lucky students. Jarrett has occasionally discussed his teaching methods, and in one … Read More

Every day for the next 31 days, I’ll be posting a new video on YouTube, looking at an aspect of Jarrett’s musicianship and pianistic approaches each day. Since Keith’s Köln Concert recording was a primary inspiration for me when I was deciding to spend my life playing piano, I’m excited to announce that part IIc … Read More

Childhood memories live on, and for me, New Years Eve means Swing Era big band dance music. Growing up in the 1970s, I vividly remember my father turning on the TV each New Years Eve while announcing “Guy Lombardo.” As a child of the rock era, I had no idea of who exactly Guy Lombardo … Read More

Hey Improvisers! Inspiration goes both ways, and I’ve definitely been inspired by the responses you’ve sent regarding last week’s Piano Improv: Year In Review. Some of the emails were very touching, and asked advice on how to get past the “solitary” aspect of piano-playing. Because these were of a personal nature, I won’t publish them. … Read More

Hey everyone! With all the “year in review” articles coming our way in a week or so, I thought we’d get a fresh start by looking at the Piano Improv trends that have arisen during the past year and are still in full bloom. For all the craziness of Covid, 2020 has been an exciting … Read More

Well, our journey through the real book has given us a precious gift this week – Duke Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood.” This beautiful jazz ballad was one of the first jazz ballads I ever played, and it brings back many fond memories for me. The song was a a regular feature during the many … Read More